A superb all-round performance from superstar cricketer Andre Russell has helped two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) thump the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 54 runs and keep their hopes alive in the ongoing season.
It was the Andre Russell show at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Saturday night as the fiery all-rounder hammered an unbeaten 28-ball 49 before claiming 3/22 in four economical overs to round off a perfect day for the West Indian.
That KKR managed to post 177/6, primarily due to some slog over onslaught from Dre Russ, who, during his attack, became the fastest to smash 2000 IPL runs (in terms of deliveries faced).
Batting first, KKR got off to a poor start as Venkatesh Iyer got knocked over by Marco Jansen for a 6-ball 7.
Ajinkya Rahane (28 off 24), Nitish Rana (26 off 16), and skipper Shreyas (15 off 9), who was playing his 100th game, flattered to deceive as they squandered their starts.
Umran Malik (3/33 in 4 overs) claimed each of them, and when Rinku Singh was trapped by Natarajan for a 6-ball 5 in the 12th over, KKR looked like staring down the barrel at 94/5.
However, a 63-run-stand between Sam Billings (34 off 29) and Russell in the next 7.2 overs and three sixes from the latter in the final over ensured that the former champions finished at 177.
Sunrisers were never really in the run-chase as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Skipper Williamson played another pathetic knock, managing a painstaking 17-ball 9 before he got knocked over by Russell.
Abhishek Sharma looked impressive during his stay, smashing 4 fours and a couple of sixes. However, wickets at the other end continued to fall as Rahul Tripathi perished to Tim Southee for a 12-ball 9.
Sharma, too followed suit thanks to Varun Chakravarthy, and when Sunil Narine got rid of Nicholas Pooran for 2 (3), the game looked done and dusted.
Aiden Markram stuck around for a while, but with virtually no support from the other end, he eventually perished for the cause.
SRH eventually crawled their way to 123/8, and it was fitting that the man of the evening, Russell, delivered the final over.
Apart from Russell, Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee were the pick of the bowlers for KKR. While Southee claimed 2/23 in 4, the Vidarbha Express gave away just 19 runs in 4 overs besides claiming the wicket of Aiden Markram.
This is SRH's fifth consecutive defeat in a row, and given the magnitude of the loss, their net run rate has taken a heavy beating.
The 2016 champions have slipped to the 8th spot in the table. KKR, on the other hand, have boosted their NRR and are currently at the 6th spot in the table.
Brief Scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders- 177/6 (20)
Andre Russell 49* (28)
Sam Billings 34 (29)
Umran Malik 3/33 (4)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1/27 (4)
Sunrisers Hyderabad- 123/8 (20)
Abhishek Sharma 43 (28)
Aiden Markram 32 (25)
Andre Russell 3/22 (4)
Tim Southee 2/23 (4)
Match Result: KKR won by 54 runs